10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
She Got Her Dojo Working, October 3, 2005
This review is from: 100 Simple Ways to Become a More Inspired, Successful and Fearless Writer: (Paperback)
As a Christmas gift, I received the book *Dojo Wisdom for Writers* by Jennifer Lawler, a Tae Kwon Do practitioner who makes a living as a freelance writer--largely writing about martial arts (viz, this book, a similar one for mothers, a couple "Dummies" books, etc.). Being as this was given to me, a wannabe writer, by a relative who's taken up a martial art, there's no doubt Ms. Lawler nailed a market niche. Kudos to her on that.
The book itself is a pretty vapid collection of fortune-cookie wisdom stretched awfully thin to connect maxims from contemporary martial arts training to the pursuit of paying writing gigs. I've always found attempts to extrapolate general life lessons--or even worse, business strategies (shudder)--from Asian martial philosophies pretty tedious. An investment banker who quotes Sun-Tzu (and I've met a few) just seems like a yutz to me. Simply because you know what someone said, or what some translator said they said, doesn't mean you understand what was meant well enough to shoehorn it into any context you like. The value of a piece of advice lies not in who said it or why, but in what it inspires you to do (I think I got that from a SpongeBob cartoon).
As for this book, there are tidbits of practical wisdom ostensibly gleaned from martial arts practice that basically boil down to the importance of perseverence, but there's really nothing of concrete value to a would-be professional writer. No technical advice on diction or syntax. No samples of successful query letters. No recommendations for constructing character-defining dialog, or avoiding hackneyed descriptions, or arranging plot points. Acutal disscussion of craft is beyond the scope of this book. Interestingly, Ms. Lawler 'fesses up that she originally wanted to write fiction but gave it up for more saleable magazine articles. She's a writer in the same way that a guy who makes a good living narrating fire saftey videos is an actor. In a nutshell, she's someone who figured out a way to retool her interests into a career pumping out disposable little volumes filled with personal anecdotes and shallow observations--even elevating herself to "brand" status (the Holy Grail of trade publishing) in the process. That's certainly an impressive professional achievement; don't mean her books are all that great.
You could say I'm just envious. Durn right, I am.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Simple Clichés Offered as Guidance for Writers, May 7, 2010
This review is from: 100 Simple Ways to Become a More Inspired, Successful and Fearless Writer: (Paperback)
Dojo Wisdom for Writers is a collection of maxims derived from Lawler's martial arts experiences and incorporated into advice for writers. Each short chapter follows with an explanation of how each principle applies to martial arts and examples showing methods of how the guidance is used in writing.
A number of the maxims provided in the book contain considerable value while others are simple regurgitations of common clichés. Much of the writing seems forced, often feeling as though Lawler struggled to stretch common inspirational themes into parallel ideas for writers.
The title of this book suggest content that is specific to writers, yet the realty is Lawler could have used the same book and applied it to nearly any occupation without missing a beat. This regrettably speaks more to the material's overly broad scope than to its versatility. There may be ample encouragement found within the pages, however nearly all the value in this book can be found by simply skimming the chapter headings.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inspiring, September 8, 2004
This review is from: 100 Simple Ways to Become a More Inspired, Successful and Fearless Writer: (Paperback)
"When the student is ready, the master appears" - is the first lesson of this magical little book.. and how true it is. I was looking for a writing coach and this book is it. Each lesson is important and clearly laid out. Read it once,read it again and then make sure you READ IT AGAIN - first time read it casually, second time do the exercise indicated with each lesson and the third time read it to make sure you are still applying the important lessons being taught to your writing. I hope that Ms. Lawyer writes many more such books and that I am lucky enough to read them
Excellent piece of work and very useful not only for new writers but also experienced ones
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
